Jock Tamson

I am not sure which mod it is in, it might be one of Mord's. Someone on here will probably know.

Even better with the very sweary Scottish voice mod from CMSF1

see post above

You could play hotseat, but each player would be able to see the other one plotting their moves

The more you try to simulate, the more you suck out the game. It is a tightrope for an entertainment product. Advanced Squad Leader does not try to be a simulation, and is better for it. There is risk, randomness and decision making within a framework of phases all of which encourage a narrative to emerge. The inconsistencies that you get with CM are not so jarring when their equivalents occur in a boardgame - because "rules" (although in ASL there is likely to be a rule for it). For example CM goes to great lengths (compared to other computer games) to simulate the effects of different levels of C2. And yet you, as the God-like player, can order every unit on the map with LoS to an action square to fire on it, even if only one unit has actually spotted a contact. The AI, of course, will not do this. This kind of situation is where, for me, CM can trip up over itself as it walks the line between allowing players freedom to do things, versus providing a framework of rules within which both player and AI operate. That kind of even ground within a set of rules is where, for me as a wargamer, a lot of the fun in a game is. I appreciate the situation is more nuanced in multiplayer. The lockdown has encouraged me to look at formats I would have considered quite lo-fi a few years ago. There is so much software out there that tries to simulate stuff, it has become boring for me. So I have been picking up the ASL Starter Kit after many many years away from boardgames, and goofing around with VASL. I have been playing Lock n Load Digital which has a nice impulse system. I've played a lot of Field of Glory 2. Sad to say I have found them more fun than CM. Maybe there will be something in the next iteration of CM that sucks me back in.

Yes

As far as I am aware, the people you invite to the session don't need to own the game

London is not particularly representative of the rest of the UK. Many of the smaller cities offer a quality of life that Londoners can only dream about. Example: Edinburgh

It occurs to me that this feature could be used to play co-operatively. Or tutoring a new player. Anyone tried it?

I think the argument was - there is a market for niche wargames among the 95 million Steam users, the games will sell, and the revenue could be used to prevent the usual dichotomy of additional content versus additional features.

Steam doesn't "look through your HD", but yes if you have highly confidential data on a PC the only way to be sure of its safety is to not install anything on the PC and don't do any web browsing on it.

The screenshots on the Steam page are really poor. Aliasing in all of them, when there is no need for it. You wouldn't put crumpled clothing in a store window.

To be fair none of these issues are to do with Steam, they are all about registering existing Battlefront keys on Slitherine,

One reason would be that adding it to your Steam library - you don't even need to install it - would allow you to a) review it on the Steam product store page b) post screenshots or videos to the Combat Mission Steam Community pages. If you were so inclined.

Lastly, this is the Syrian Special Ops Uniform modded with the German forces trousers. You can see where I got the vest from for the mod above.